1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a preparation method for a carbon structure having meso-size pores. More particularly, the present invention relates to a preparation method for a granular carbon mesoporous structure having a reformed surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, activated carbon refers to conventional carbon having fine pores. The activated carbon is prepared by physically or chemically activating raw materials, such as wood, peat, charcoal, brown coal, coconut husk, or petroleum cork. The activated carbon has superior adsorption property, so the activated carbon is extensively used to remove impurities and pollutants from liquid or air. The activated carbon is classified into powdered activated carbon and granular activated carbon. In the case of the powdered activated carbon, dust may be generated or a solution for removing impurities is contaminated by carbon powder during the adsorption process. In order to solve the above problem, the granular activated carbon has been developed and extensively used. However, the granular activated carbon is formed with pores having a small size, so the granular activated carbon may not effectively adsorb impurities and pollutants having various molecular weights, especially, high molecular weight. In addition, since the pore volume is small, the amount of pollutants adsorbed by the granular activated carbon may be limited, and the pollutants may not be readily discharged through the small-size pores when the granular activated carbon is reproduced, so the granular activated carbon may not be reused. For this reason, a carbon mesoporous structure has been spotlighted as a substitute of the granular activated carbon.
A mesopore refers to a pore having a size in the range of about 2 nm to 50 nm. A carbon material having such a mesopore represents superior effects as compared with the conventional powdered or granular activated carbon. First, the mesoporous carbon is formed with pores larger than pores of the activated carbon, so the mesoporous carbon can adsorb materials having various molecular weights. In addition, since the mesoporous carbon has a relatively large pore volume, time to reach the adsorption equilibrium may be shortened, so the size of the adsorbent can be diminished and the economic efficiency can be improved. Further, materials adhering to the mesopores may be readily detached from the mesopores as compared with the conventional activated carbon, so it may be possible to reproduce or reuse the mesoporous carbon. Thus, the life span and the economic efficiency of the adsorbent can be improved.
Although the mesoporous carbon has the above advantages, the mesoporous carbon has not been commonly used yet due to the expensive synthesizing cost and difficulty of mass production. In addition, since the carbon mesoporous material is synthesized in the form of powder, there is limitation to remove impurities from liquid and dust may be generated when the carbon mesoporous material is used to remove impurities from air. Thus, it is very difficult to apply the carbon mesoporous material in the field.
To realize the common use of the carbon mesoporous material, it is necessary to develop a preparation method for the carbon mesoporous material, which can be applied to both liquid and air and can reduce the synthesizing cost and process steps. However, the method for solving the above problems has not been suggested yet.